A world, Trumped by bias, blinded by Xi

Trump vilified, Xi excused: A global double standard

Selective outrage of the world (including you and me) is one of the greatest paradoxes of our time.

Donald Trump is being projected as the villain of the world, immediately after having conclusively won the US Presidential election. Tariff war, which was part of his election promise, is the main reason for the projection of such a perception.

Unelected Xi Jinping’s authoritarian aggression is expanding globally; yet most of global academia, media, and intellectuals remain either silent, or disturbingly sympathetic.

When Trump wages a tariff war, the world condemns his economic nationalism. For good reasons.

But when it comes to China’s sustained, multi-front campaign of aggression and manipulation, their criticism suddenly turns into a whisper, or worse, disappears altogether.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, the world called Putin a war criminal. Again, rightly so.

But the same chorus wants to conveniently forget or ignore that it was the US (under Joe Biden), the UK, and the EU who pushed Russia toward the edge. How will they dismiss his claim that he did it in self-defence? He had given several warnings to them not to checkmate Russia by working to expand NATO.

NATO and EU expansion wasn’t just a strategic miscalculation, it was a conscious, well-thought-out, avoidable provocation that contributed to the bloodshed in Ukraine.

It’s amusing that countries like Germany continue to fund Putin’s war machine through energy imports, directly and indirectly, even as they preach morality to the rest of the world.

If Putin is a war criminal, aren’t the leaders of these countries the same or much worse, having started it all?

This selective blindness is not just baffling; it is dangerous. It’s not just an oversight. It appears to be part of a grand criminal design.

China annexed Tibet, claims Taiwan as its own, threatens to capture Indian territory by making false claims, and by Salami Slicing at the borders, funds proxy terrorism through Pakistan, and systematically violates international norms on trade, intellectual property, and cybersecurity.

It has built a global debt empire through the BRI (Belt and Road Initiative), where vulnerable nations are pushed into unsustainable loans for infrastructure they never needed, but Beijing did.

It’s turning digital infrastructure into a surveillance weapon.

It silences dissent brutally within its borders, from Hong Kong to Xinjiang, and is strongly suspected of having unleashed COVID-19 with no transparency or remorse.

To defend itself in international forums and public platforms, it has cultivated global media, social media influencers, ‘intellectuals’, global political leaders in the ruling and opposition parties (including the Heads of several major powers), top functionaries of International NGOs and Inter-Governmental organizations through suspected bribery.

And yet, even influential voices like Jeffrey Sachs treat China with kid gloves, while castigating Trump and Putin.

Almost no one wants to confront China, the one actor whose ambitions are the most opaque, coordinated, and long-term. They don’t even criticise a regime that embodies a modern-day Orwellian nightmare.

Is this simply ideological myopia, or are deeper links at play, one wonders.

India, thankfully, has charted a different course, at least so far.

India has adopted a stance of strategic autonomy, engaging with all major powers on equal footing, without becoming a pawn in their geopolitical games.

Though China is an eternal threat, India hasn’t formally joined any anti-China alliance. It’s building quiet, strong partnerships in defence, technology, and trade with nations that matter.

Being an elephant, it moves only slowly, though. It is realpolitik with moral clarity, the best possible combination in the difficult circumstances.

India doesn’t delude itself into seeing the US as a flawless or benevolent partner.

Nor does it underestimate the immediate and existential threat that China poses, not just to India, but to global freedom, open markets, and pluralistic values.

I’m not trying to defend Trump, but the difference between Trump and Xi is crucial.

The US under Trump may be transactional, but China is fundamentally untrustworthy, even in the short, medium, and long term.

China’s model is imperial in disguise, cloaked in the language of “multipolarity.” It wants to become the world’s sole factory, the world’s lender, and the world’s only superpower.

Yet, intellectuals who champion human rights, civil liberties, and democratic values remain inexplicably silent. This isn’t just intellectual dishonesty. It is moral abdication.

Trump starts from a maximalist position but is clearly just bargaining for a deal.

He’s likely to recalibrate if the deal suits the US interest. He may flip a decision overnight without shame, driven by political calculation.

Xi Jinping, on the other hand, seeks only maximalist outcomes. Any pretence of compromise is strategic misdirection; his regime will backtrack only in appearance, never in intent.

This difference between a transactional negotiator and a hegemonic schemer is what makes China’s threat a lot more enduring and dangerous

India must stay the course, partner where it benefits, resist when necessary, and above all, maintain strategic autonomy.

This is a world of shifting alliances and hypocritical posturing.

Who knows if Trump won’t make up with Xi and become his close pal tomorrow morning?

India’s realism, courage, and moral compass may be one of the major hopes, not only for India but also for a truly multipolar and free world.

What the world needs now is not idealism wrapped in selective morality. It needs honesty, courage, and the willingness to call out tyranny, no matter where it resides.

About the Author:

The author is a concerned citizen (and entrepreneur) who observes national and global politics with an attempted neutral lens. Without claiming expertise, he reflects on complex issues in simple terms, driven by a desire to understand, engage, and contribute meaningfully to public discourse.

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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